Gerhart announces run for Osseo School Board

Published August 23, 2012 at 12:50 am

Robert Gerhart of Maple Grove is announcing his candidacy for the Osseo School Board.

“Our school district is facing a variety of challenges, from insufficient and ‘shifted’ government funding, to achievement gaps between various demographic groups of students, to the upcoming operating and technology levy referendums,” Gerhart said in a statement.

Gerhart said as costs continue to rise, a point comes when it’s not practical to cut spending while maintaining desired and mandated programs. He believes the district must try fundamentally different ideas that provide more educational value for the same or less cost.

“These are not simply empty campaign statements,” his said in his statement. “I am a professional problem solver; I am a degreed engineer with a masters degree in management. I take highly complex problems, break them down, inject some nontraditional thinking, and devise solutions or explanations that are easy to understand and economical to implement.”

A father of four, Gerhart believes he can combine his experience and knowledge to help devise solutions for the district.